INTERFAX - Hungary Business news report of 17.05.2008

NEWS

Hungarian industrial output growth slows to 1.9% y/y in March on manufacturing - final data

Hungary’s GDP grows 1.6% y/y in Q1 – statistical office first estimate

Hungary’s GDP grows 1.6% y/y in Q1 – statistical office first estimate

STATISTICS

Hungary’s CPI inflation slows to 6.6% y/y, 0.3% m/m in April – meets forecasts

COMPANY NEWS

REAL ESTATE

Hungarian developer AL Holding expects slowdown on U.S. subprime crisis

Hungarian developer Bokreta expects stagnating demand on residential market in 2009–2012

CEE developer Orco’s Budapest film studio to suffer delays due to archeological excavation

Hungarian hotel occupancy 58.4% in April, room revenues drop 2.7% y/y

Hungarian property manager Graphisoft Park’s profit down 48% y/y in Q1; cuts guidance for 2008

Hungarian city of Debrecen plans HUF 10 bln spa, hotel development project

AIB Polonia Fund expands Hungarian office building, plans new acquisitions

Hungarian hotel group Danubius losses widen by 61% y/y to HUF 1.66 bln in Q1

Australian developer Goodman plans to invest EUR 250-300 mln in Hungary over next five years

PRESS: German hotelier Kempinski to enter Romania

Spanish developer Grupo Menchero to invest EUR 1.6 bln in Romanian property project

Irish-Romanian Ryan Properties to invest EUR 19 mln in residential project

Romanian developer Impact to invest EUR 700 mln on local real estate market by 2012

Romanian developer ModaTim Investment to build EUR 50 mln office project

PRESS: United Arab Emirates-based Bloom Properties targets Romania for real estate projects

U.S. subprime crisis to result in development slowdown in Hungary – expert

Hungary plans Europe’s largest aqua-complex in HUF 4.8-bln Hajduszoboszlo project

U.S. logistics firm ProLogis to build 20,600 sqm logistics property for UTi in Hungary

ENERGY NEWS

OIL & PETROCHEMICALS

Hungarian petrochemicals TVK Q1 net falls 80% y/y to HUF 1.8 bln on raw material costs

Hungarian oil group MOL announces oil discovery in Siberia

Hungary’s top oil company MOL meets forecasts with HUF 65 bln net in Q1, up 43% y/y

PRESS: Hungarian alternative energy co. PannErgy mulls geothermal investments in Romania

PRESS: Romanian oil firm Petrom to invest in 345 MW wind power project

Hungarian court rejects Austrian OMV’s suit against Hungarian oil co. MOL

Hungarian fuel prices to rise to new records this week; gasoline up HUF 4 per liter, diesel up HUF 7

PRESS: Germany’s E.ON, Gaz de France to buy Romanian gas distributor Petrom Distributie Gaze

GAS

Hungarian energy co. Emfesz buys site for planned 2,400 MW gas-fired plant, building to start in ’09

U.S. hydrocarbon exploration company Toreador declares 2nd Hungarian well dry hole

U.S. hydrocarbon exploration company Toreador starts drilling 2nd Hungarian gas well

HEAT, POWER & SEWAGE

PRESS: Romanian electricity company Elcen to invest EUR 160 mln in Bucharest energy unit

PRESS: Romanian power grid operator Transelectrica doubles profit in Q1 2008 to EUR 22.2 mln

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Switzerland’s Glencore breaks ground on HUF 5 bln oil press, largest in Hungary

Hungarian-Austrian energy co. Renerwind begins EUR 12 mln wind park in NW Hungary

BANKING & FINANCE NEWS

BANKING

Hungarian mortgage bank FHB’s Q1 net rises 34% y/y to HUF 2.3 bln on financial transactions

Hungary’s top bank OTP posts HUF 55.3 bln net in Q1 2008, in line with expectations

EMERGING MARKETS NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Estonian minister sees no politics in Russia’s decision to re-route oil products’ transit

Putin says oil exports may be rerouted from Baltic to ports in Russia

Moscow hopes talks with EU on new agreement will not be burdened by far-fetched terms

FINANCIAL MARKETS

FIXED INCOME

Hungary fixed income benchmark yields 16/05/2008

CURRENCY

National Bank of Hungary official exchange rates 09–16/05/2008

MONEY MARKET

Hungary fixed income benchmark yields 09–16/05/2008

National Bank of Hungary official interest rates – 16/05/2008

Nb: This news report features only the headline of each news